There’s only one good reason to get up earlier than I need to on a weekday, and as you can probably guess that is to go climbing. A few weeks back I almost made the near two hour trip to meet Pontus at a small spot just north of Pinjarra. As it was, things went sideways and alternative plans without Pontus were made. Today we made amends for that. Arriving within minutes of each other to be greet by a biting wind, which was howling off the scarp, through the valley, and onwards down to the coastal plains:
This is the only place in Western Australia I can think off where you can climb on two different types of rock. Each requiring a different climbing style. Having been here a few times over the last ten years, I was happy for Pontus to pick the routes and take the sharp end. He’s keen as mustard, so there were no complaints from his side about does arrangements. To escape the wind being funnelled along the road, we started on the natural granite outcrop of Boomer Crag. Nestled up on the side of the valley it is situated in a more sheltered location:
On a winters morning the rock on any inland crag can feel bitterly cold. I’ve had experiences here when our fingers have become painfully numb for at least the first couple of routes. Today despite the winds best efforts to cool things down, our continued warm and dry spell prevented that. It has been the warmest and direst spring, summer, and so far also autumn on record. With no rain other than a few light sprinkles since October. The country is dry, scorched, and dusty. On the plus side it does make for great climbing conditions:
Pontus is still relatively new to trad climbing, so the conditions were ideal. Not needing to battle the elements, as well as deal with the mental drain of finding and placing protection. On one line he choose, his level of trust was tested when he had to place and put full faith in what are called micro wires. Not even that phased him and to boot for the next climb, he clocked up his hardest trad lead to date. And did so in much better style that I did, when feeling somewhat weary and not so coordinating I slipped off into the safety of the rope:
We watched from on high, as the sun began to soak the valley below. This is where Spring Grove Farm Cutting sits, just off the road. After four great lines on the natural outcrop in the shade, we made our way back down to the manmade rock face before it got too toasty. The steep granite walls offer both trad and sport routes, and we started with a bit off bolt clipping. This allowed Pontus to get used to the rock and style required. It was a good move as it was warming up and felt a bit sweaty, making the holds feel a little less secure:
I also feel he was not too keen to jump on the trad lines, as they required larger camming devices to be used in a rather unusual way. To see what I mean check out this post, https://sandbagged.blog/2021/06/19/the-george-michael-effect/. Pontus felt he would rather follow someone, after they had led one of the routes. To allow him to see what the placements were like. I can’t say I was surprised, being relatively new to trad climbing it was good to see him being cautious about going too extreme with inventive placements:
Today I was not in the mood to jump on lead. I can put my finger on why, but my body just wasn’t up to it. As such I was very pleased when Pontus was happy to keep taking on the leads, as long as they were the bolted lines. He kept going even when the comfort levels were being tested. The heat was being concentrated on our bodies, from the sun on our backs and also as it was being reflected off the bright rock. Not only were our fingertips starting to get that bit more sweaty, but our toes were starting to heat up:
The black rubber on the shoes were efficiently transferring the heat, and the way climbing shoes are designed our toes were front and centre of where the heat was ending up. We managed four lines in the sun, which evened things up nicely between the two delightful crags. The spicy final moves on the last climb were enough for Pontus to call it quits, and I was more than happy with that. I can see a return trip being required, so I can redeem myself on the route I slipped off. But also to lead one of the unusual trad lines to see if I can encourage Pontus to give it a go:
Sandbagged 